I'm not usually in the Christmas spirit so early, but in my choir group we are gearing up for our Christmas concert, so I've been starting to get into it. Also, someone on Facebook posted that there are only 7 Mondays between now and Christmas, which made my anxiety level rise a little bit, so I needed some seasonal music to get me excited and not just stressed. :)
I've realized lately that all my favorite songs tend to have some minor-key tonality, and that trend is continuing over into Christmas, I suppose, because my current favorite Christmas song is this contemplative beauty, "In the Bleak Midwinter," which is a poem by Christina Rosetti set to music by Harold Darke. Here is a link to the lyrics: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/238450. And here is a link to a performance by the King's College Cambridge singers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-9yB6t8Vl4. There is another version with music by Gustav Holst that is also nice, but I think Darke's tune communicates the emotional power of the lyrics better, especially on that last verse! The gorgeousness...it's too much for me.
Other slightly melancholy-sounding seasonal favorites are "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," and "What Child Is This?" Feel free to share your favorite Christmas song too, if you're not opposed in principle to thinking about it before Thanksgiving. :)
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
2 comments:
We are singing this exact same version of "In the Bleak Mid-Winter" in my choir too! I'll be thinking of you, Jaime, when I rehearse with my group. The women in our choir don't sound as great when we sing the first verse (we aren't having a soloist); the young boys in this video sure show us up!
-Monica
That's so neat! Wish we could sing it together again! Yeah, these boys are amazing! I want to close my eyes and pretend I'm there hearing them in that gorgeous cathedral. :) They also make me want to find a boy's choir for George when he's old enough, if he's interested. He loves to sing right now...I'm crossing my fingers that will continue! :)
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